FREEPORT, Grand Bahama -- The Ministry of Youth Sports & Culture held its 15th Annual City of Freeport Council Junior Junkanoo awards presentations, May 29, 2014 at the Hilton Outten Convention Centre. Minister for Grand Bahama Michael Darville said that the Junior Junkanoo was one of the best the community has seen, and he congratulated all the children, their parents and the teachers. The Minister also praised the organisers of the parade and the sponsors for a job well done. (BIS Photos/Vandyke Hepburn)
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MINISTER of State for Finance Michael Halkitis said the government's decision not introduce across the board Customs duty reduction with the looming implementation of value added tax (VAT) will prevent the government from "sinking further in debt" and avoid currency devaluation.

A SUPREME Court judge has set aside an injunction on dredging activities in Bimini, giving Resorts World Bimini the freedom to restart its dredging activities.

Prime Minster Perry Christie said advisors have assured the government that its new assistance program will be sufficient to assist the poor once value-added tax (VAT) is implemented next year, however, some observers expressed fear that it will not be enough.
Former Minister of State for Social Development Loretta Butler-Turner said she expects that the poor will be "gravely impacted" by VAT, despite efforts to cushion the blow.
Similarly, Bishop Walter Hanchell said the government would likely need to increase its social assistance, adding that the VAT model could potentially send poor Bahamians further into poverty.
"The cost of living is going to go up considerably because essentially what we are going to be doing come the first of January is paying customs taxes, any excise taxes and on top of that it's going to be the 7.5 percent value-added tax,"
Butler-Turner said.
"Those most vulnerable among us are going to be hugely impacted."
On Wednesday, Christie announced that VAT will be introduced at a rate of 7.5 percent "across the board" on January 1, 2015.
However, he said there will be "few exemptions" and no customs duty reductions.
Christie acknowledged that while the model has significant benefits, it would have an adverse impact on the poor.
"It would thus be vital to introduce mechanisms to protect such households," he said.
"The team (New Zealand VAT advisors) estimated that our proposed reforms to social assistance programs appear to provide a suitable delivery mechanism for such a system to the poor and disadvantaged."
The government plans to overhaul its social safety net later this year.
In a program being conducted with $7.5 million in financing from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Ministry of Social Services will make receipt of social assistance payments by the lowest income households from the government conditional on a variety of education and health-related behaviors through the introduction of cash transfers.
In the 2014/2015 budget, it is estimated that the social safety program will receive an allocation of $1.5 million.
The Department of Social Services is estimated to receive a $333,920 budget increase.
The line items for food assistance and subsistence assistance have collectively increased by just over $1.5 million.
However, Hanchell insisted that the government's proposed social services program will have to be increased.
"The rich can afford it, but the poor can't afford it because so many people can't even afford the tax that we have now...It's going to cause the poverty level to increase.
"The government has not invested enough money in the poor," said Hanchell, who operates Great Commission Ministries, which feeds those in need.
"Social Services is doing a fairly good job, but they could do much more...Our people are starving."
Christie said food items will not be among the list of goods and services that will be exempt from VAT.
He said exemptions are a costlier method of trying to help the poor, because more revenue is sacrificed to those who are not poor.
"Having the means to provide direct assistance to low-income families is thus a far more efficient mechanism than exempting necessities from VAT," he said.
Last year, Financial Secretary John Rolle said the government was looking at expanding social safety net programs by at least $30 million in the first year that VAT is introduced, in order to offset its expected initial harmful effects on the nation's poor.
Butler-Turner said unless the government has hidden the allocations in the budget to assist the poor, it would need to do much more.
"I can only go with what's in the budget," she said.
"They may have the figures in their heads. Unless they are going to bring clarification, I don't see any of that money reflected in the budget."
Christie said Minister for Social Service Melanie Griffin will address the government's new program when she contributes to the budget debate.
Butler-Turner added that January is a bad month to roll out VAT, as it is typically a slow month economically.
Under the old model, which would have seen VAT introduced at 15 percent, but accompanied by widespread duty reductions, it was estimated that the poorest 20 percent of Bahamians would see their spending power decrease by at least 11 percent in the first year of VAT.
That's according to a report on the projected impact of VAT introduction on The Bahamas compiled by the IDB. It's unclear what impact the new model will have on the poor.
VAT is expected to generate approximately $150 million in the second half of the upcoming fiscal year.